Oscar Pedro Musibay

Las Vegas Sands Corp. , which has been linked to the Miami Worldcenter site in downtown Miami, is also seriously considering Broward County as a possible home, according to one of its Tallahassee-based lobbyists.

Internet cafes, spreading to shopping centers across the state, feature computer games where players can win gift cards or other prizes.

The Palm Beach County Commission on Thursday proposed a temporary moratorium to stop the spread of the cafes while the county considers imposing rules on where they can open and what type of gaming should be allowed.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the moratorium in February.

“They just kind of pop up,” Commissioner Karen Marcus said. “They are a form of gambling that is unregulated. (We need to) make sure people aren't going in there and getting scammed.”

Duval and Leon counties already regulate Internet cafes, and other counties and cities across the state are considering similar measures.

href=”http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/” target=”_blank”>Palm Beach County's moratorium would not affect existing Internet cafes, and it would only temporarily ban new ones in areas outside of city limits.

County officials plan to work with local cities to see if they want to approve similar measures.

A tricky part of crafting the new regulations will be defining what is an Internet cafe. County officials say they don't want to limit restaurants that just offer Internet access or traditional children's arcades.

The “sweepstakes” offered through computer games at legitimate Internet cafes are marketing promotions used to sell products such as Internet time or phone cards, said Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis, who represents many of the businesses.

“I don't know that a moratorium is really necessary,” Mathis said. “Most operators are not opposed to reasonable regulations.”

This potential crackdown on Internet cafes comes as South Florida officials are angling to allow more gambling as a potential tourist attraction.

The Legislature is being asked to allow Las Vegas-style casino resorts in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

By Michael Vasquez

As Florida considers ushering in a new era of casino mega-resorts, a dispute in the tiny Panhandle town of Gretna has focused attention on the state’s existing gambling landscape — and the considerable confusion that surrounds it.

Florida’s current gambling laws, some say, are so haphazard, so disjointed, that no one can even agree on what the term “horse racing” means anymore.

If you’re thinking of the Kentucky Derby, think again. Gretna’s new Creek Entertainment barrel racing facility — which also will offer poker and hopes to add slots — has just opened, despite fervent opposition from the state’s horse trainers and breeders. Instead of racing around an oval track, these horses zig-zag around red barrels, rodeo-style.

The owners of Creek Entertainment — which include a savvy Gulfstream Park lobbyist who once tried to install slots at Miami International Airport — say the particulars of how the horses are running don’t matter. Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation has agreed, and signed off on barrel racing as fully compliant with Creek Entertainment’s quarter horse racing permits.

By opting for unconventional barrel races, Creek Entertainment is poised to reap all the rewards of running a horse track, while avoiding the typical requirement of sharing profits with the horsemen.

Another state House member predicts Broward voters will vote 'yes' if given the chance

South Florida voters may get the right to approve or veto destination casinos in the region, one lawmaker pushing for the plan said Thursday.

“I still maintain that there is no need for a referendum and our voters have spoken on the issue,” said state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami. “That said, I'm pragmatic and recognize that there may be political will to add an additional, local referendum for the feel-good “democratic” factor and I'm OK with that reality.”

He predicted the destination casino plan would pass “overwhelmingly” in Miami-Dade County. He made no forecast for Broward County, which is outside his district.

law in October, would allow three giant Las Vegas-style casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward. The plan is opposed by existing pari-mutuels like racetracks and dogtracks; the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which operates its own casinos; Orlando's convention and Disney interests and those philosophically opposed to gambling.

it easier for some state lawmakers to approve the casino plan. Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, is not a fan of the idea; he said Thursday that “a referendum is just a way for legislators to abdicate their responsibility.” Waldman said he thought Broward voters, if given the chance, would vote in favor of the new casinos.

“Pushing this on Miami-Dade and Broward without another vote is insulting to the voters who approved slots,” Mardi Gras president Dan Adkins said. “They voted on slot machines at limited, fixed, pre-existing gaming facilities, period.”

He also took it a step further, noting that destination casinos could void the Seminoles' compact with the state, so a statewide vote is in order.

Voter referendums have been used before in Florida to settle the issue of whether to permit gambling. First, 50.8 percent of voters statewide in 2004 approved an amendment empowering each county to decide whether it wanted slot machines. Then Broward County voters in 2005 and Miami-Dade voters in 2008 approved allowing the slot machines.

Fresen and Bogdanoff have pointed to those referendums as sufficient legal grounds for creating destination casinos.

Fresen first talked about the referendum idea in response to a Miami Herald editorial board question. Bogdanoff was in committee meetings Thursday afternoon and could not be reached by the Sun Sentinel.

What We’re About

We seek more public attention related to MIami's waterfront properties
-We need to work with th developer and others to preserve the Tequesta Archaeological site at Met Square- also the site of the Royal Palm Hotel, Fort Dallas etc. Does Miami have any sense of place or is it endlessly disposable?
-We Are concerned about Genting's destination casino and attempts by other casino moguls to hone into Miami's space.
-We are concerned about the one sided news coverage of so many issues such as their fawning over David Beckham's real estate dealings regarding Major League Soccer - another potentially bad deal for the County on public land.
-The fate of ostensibly public parkland called Parcel B that was promised as a park in 1996 next to the American Airlines Arena but which has for long been fenced off- from the public.
-The continuing Sales office related to the Epic Hotel on what is supposed to be public right of way along the mouth of the Miami River.
. (READ MORE)
Also:
See NoCasinos.org

Norman Braman on Gambling

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Breaking News on Miami’s Waterfront

Issues Are Coming At Miami in fast order.
-Met Square Building at site of Tequesta/Royal Palm Hotel. We need an alternative design to properly save the site within a larger waterfront planning effort.
-Beckham land grab on Watson Island? Check out Beckham's relationship with Sheldon Adelson. Is there a Trojan horse here?
-2.7 acres of Parcel B waterside at American Airlines Arena for a Cuban History Museum and additional Heat Parking garage? COme on. Cuban History Museum should be in Little Havana